Hautes-Alpes

History

detailed Article: History of Hautes-Alpes

Hautes-Alpes were one of the 83 departments created the March 4th 1790, pursuant to the law of the December 22nd 1789. It was consisted of the south-eastern part of the Dauphiné and the north of the Provence.

With the creation of the department, the communes of the Low register and Villar d' Arène (valley of Romanche) claimed their fastening in Hautes-Alpes because they hoped to profit thus from the advantageous statute of the Éscartons of Briançonnais.

Department and districts

- 1790 (March 4th): creation of the department of Hautes-Alpes (4 districts (Briançon, Spray, Gap, Greenhouses), 39 cantons), chief town Chorges
- 1790: the chief town of the department is transferred from Chorges to Gap
- 1800 (February 17th): creation of the districts: Gap, Briançon, Spray and new cutting of the cantons
- 1926 (September 10th): removal of the district of Embrun

Limiting secondary roads

- about 1800? : the canton of Monestier-in Ambel is detached from Hautes-Alpes to be attached to Isère
- 1811: the canton of Barcillonnette is detached from the Low-Alps to be attached to High-Alpes
- 1947 (February 10th, treaty of Paris): correction of border with the Italy, annexation of the Mount Thabor (Narrow Valley) and of the Mount Chaberton (Montgenèvre)

Principal modifications having affected the communes:

to see article Old communes of Hautes-Alpes

Evolution of the number of communes

Policy

detailed Article: Political of Hautes-Alpes

List of the deputies of Hautes-Alpes
List of the senators of Hautes-Alpes
List of the general advisers of Hautes-Alpes
List of the legislative districts of Hautes-Alpes
List of the prefects of Hautes-Alpes

Geography

detailed Article: Geography of Hautes-Alpes

Hautes-Alpes are surrounded by the departments of the Alp-of-High-Provence, of the Drome, the Isere and the Savoy like by the Italy.

It includes/understands only three agglomerations which can be truly qualified cities, Gap, Briançon and Embrun (formerly sub-prefecture, until in 1926).

One finds there the commune highest of Europe, Saint-Véran, village located at 2 042 m of altitude. Moreover, Gap is the highest prefecture of France, and Briançon (1 326 m) the highest city of the European Union.

altitude

It is a very mountainous department, the second whose average altitude is highest (higher than 1.000m), after the Lozere. It varies from 430 Mr. in the Buëch with 4102 m (Bar of the Jewel cases).

Direct consequence of altitude, strong the 300 days sunning per annum which is worth at the department tourism of winter like summer.

River: the the Durance, the Drac, the Buëch, the Clarée, the Guil, the Guisane, the Séveraisse, High the Romanche.

Lake of Greenhouse-Ponçon: 3000 hectares with a common power station: Savines-the-Lake.

geographical Areas: the Briançonnais, the Bochaine (or country of the Buëch), the Champsaur - Valgaudemar, the Dévoluy, the Embrunais, the Gapençais, the Guillestrois, the Laragnais, the Queyras, the Serrois - Rosanais, the Veynois, the Valgaudemar, Country of the Jewel cases

Climate

detailed Article: Climate of Hautes-Alpes

Economy

detailed Article: Economy of Hautes-Alpes

Demography

detailed Article: Demography of Hautes-Alpes

The inhabitants of Hautes-Alpes are the High-Alpine (or Top-Alpine ).

The relief of Hautes-Alpes explains its weak settlement mainly. Its population, which reached already approximately 120 000 inhabitants with his creation, varied little during the XIXe century. Exceeding the 130 slightly; 000 inhabitants in the middle of the century, it lowered because of the Rural migration, but was still higher than 100 000 the day before the First World War, which deeply affected the demography of this department like that of all the country. The population stagnated then between 85 000 and 90 000 inhabitants during a few decades. It is only in the Années 1960 that the population started again to increase, thanks to an economy reinforced by the development of tourism, passing from 87 436 inhabitants in 1962 with 121 419 in 1999. This growth mainly benefitted at the town of Gap and the cities and villages from the principal valleys, but the depopulation of the most mountainous zones (and most difficult of access) could not be compensated.

Evolution of the population

Culture

detailed Article: Culture in Hautes-Alpes

Tourism

detailed Article: Tourism in Hautes-Alpes

Hautes-Alpes propose at the same time ski stations of average and big size, such as Serre Knight with an alpine field of 250 km or Vars, Risoul, Montgenèvre, Puy-Saint-Vincent, Orcières-Merlette, SuperDévoluy and the Cheek of the Wolf, and much of others of more modest size reduced to one or more villages (Céüze, Réallon, Ancelle, Chaillol, Laye…).

The Massive of the Jewel cases, with the valley of Vallouise or the Queyras, protected by their statute from national park and regional natural park, are sites privileged for the Alpinisme and the Randonnée high and medium mountains.

The the Durance, its principal affluent and other torrents offer many possibilities for the amateurs of Rafting or Kayak.

The communes of Tallard and Saint-Crepin with their aerodromes attract the pilots of Gliding as well as the parachutists.

One also finds there some historic sites like the fortresses of Mount-Dolphin and Briançon, Fort Queyras, of the archeological sites like the money mines of the Small valley of Fournel with Argentière-la-Bessée, of the typical villages of mountain like Saint-Véran, Névache or Dormillouse, hamlet accessible only to foot in the central zone from the National park from the Jewel cases.

Random links: